Bahrain-Saudi trade rises 32pc in five years
Trade between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia has jumped 32pc in five years, driven by rising investment, stronger business links and major transport projects tying the two markets ever closer.
Saudi Arabia remains one of Bahrain’s chief trading partners, while its vast nearby market gives Bahraini firms room to grow across a far larger economy.
The King Fahd Causeway sits at the core of that trade, carrying people, goods and business traffic between the two countries each day. The planned King Hamad Causeway and the GCC railway are expected to deepen those links further.
Saudi investment in Bahrain now spans financial services, insurance, industry, information technology and communications, showing how far the relationship has moved beyond old trading patterns.
A memorandum of understanding between Bahrain’s Economic Development Board and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment is aimed at raising direct investment between the two kingdoms.
It covers the exchange of information on investment openings, laws and market rules, along with work on public-private partnerships and joint promotion of business opportunities.
The agreement also provides for exhibitions, conferences and business meetings, as well as an annual Saudi-Bahraini investment forum bringing companies and investors together.
It was signed during the fourth meeting of the Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council, which has put trade and investment high on its agenda since its creation in 2019.
Trade between the two countries has risen by 32pc in the five years since then, according to figures cited in the material.
Both sides are also drawing on areas shared by Saudi Vision 2030 and Bahrain Economic Vision 2030, including economic diversification, innovation and knowledge-based industries.
Yet the economic relationship stretches back long before oil.
Before the first wells were drilled, maritime trade, pearling and the movement of merchants between Bahrain and the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula were already part of Gulf commerce.
Manama’s markets drew traders from the eastern coast, while Saudi ports were closely linked to Bahrain’s trading routes.
Oil then changed the scale of the relationship.
Bahrain discovered oil in 1932 and Saudi Arabia in 1938.
Saudi crude was refined at Bahrain’s refinery for many years, while an oil pipeline laid between the two countries in the 1940s became an early example of cross-border industrial co-operation in the Gulf.
The opening of the King Fahd Causeway in 1986 changed trade and travel again by giving the two countries a direct road link.
Cross-border movement became part of everyday life for many residents and businesses, helping trade, tourism and investment grow on both sides.
The next stage rests heavily on transport and infrastructure, with the King Hamad Causeway, the GCC railway and water-link projects expected to draw the two economies closer still.
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